The present invention relates to a tool for punching and embossing a variety of designs in a sheet of material, such as paper. More particularly, the present invention is a hand-operated punch/emboss tool with economical interchangeable dies that are orientable in a variety of directions with respect to the punch/emboss tool.
A variety of punch and emboss tools are available for punching and embossing designs in sheets of material, such as paper. Most of these punch and emboss tools have a significantly limited reach and a fixed design orientation, and thus impose a restriction on the location and orientation of the punched or embossed image on common sizes of paper, such as 8xc2xdxe2x80x3xc3x9711xe2x80x3. As such, users must often punch or emboss smaller sheets, and adhere them to a larger sheet in the desired, but unreachable, location and orientation. Some long reach tools with orientable patterns exist, but they are usually limited to punching or embossing a single design. A user must invest in a whole new tool in order to have a new punch or emboss design with the same freedom of reach and orientability. A user therefore may begin to acquire a collection of individual punch tools and emboss tools that is not only expensive, but bulky to carry. The few tools that have interchangeable punch or emboss inserts are implemented such that the reach and orientability benefits are sacrificed, or such that the interchangeable inserts are relatively complex and costly.
Another common drawback of many punch tools is that they are difficult to actuate, causing excessive repetitive physical stain to the user. Therefore, tools that do not themselves include a means of providing the user with extra mechanical advantage are often actuated with an additional leverage mechanism, which again adds to a user""s cost.
Therefore, it is an objective of this invention to provide a single tool that will allow a user to punch or emboss a variety of designs on common sizes of sheet material such as paper, at any location on the sheet, in a variety of orientations.
It is a further object of this invention to provide interchangeable punch inserts and emboss inserts that are relatively inexpensive, so that it is economical to take advantage of the benefits of the tool for additional punch or emboss designs.
It is a further object of this invention to provide interchangeable punch inserts and emboss insets that are compact, such that it is easy to carry a collection of them.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a built-in means of leverage so that the user can actuate the punching inserts without excessive physical force or external leverage mechanisms.
The invention is an improved punch/emboss tool. The tool has a frame with two elongated beams. The upper beam is joined at one end to the lower beam and extends in a parallel and spaced-apart fashion so that a sheet of paper, or the like, can be slipped in between the two beams. The ends of the beams define two xe2x80x9cborexe2x80x9d portions for carrying either a punch set or an emboss set. A person in the arts and crafts industry would understand that punch and emboss sets work in much the same way, mechanically, the significant difference being that a xe2x80x9cpunchxe2x80x9d set is used to punch a decorative hole in a piece of paper and an xe2x80x9cembossxe2x80x9d set is used to emboss a decorative design in the paper.
Each of the two portions of the frame making up the bore portions are shaped to interchangeably hold one part of a two-part punch/emboss set. In other words, each frame portion holds one separate part (or one-half) of the set in a manner such that it is easy to replace one set (having a particular punch or emboss pattern) with another. An aspect of the invention that sets it apart from the prior art is that one of the two frame portions allows the part of the set that it holds to co-axially slide toward and away from the other part of the set. This enables the parts of the set to be driven together into engagement with a sheet of paper (or similar sheet of material) between them.
In preferred form, the bore portions described above are constructed as square bores in which each separated part of the punch/emboss set resides. The two bores are fixed by the frame such that the two halves of the insert set are registered in coaxial alignment. Their non-circular shape prevents one part of the punch/emboss set from rotating relative to the other to ensure precise registration of the parts of the set when they come together. While the bores are described here as being square in shape, it is to be understood that other polygonal shapes or other non-circular shapes may work just as well. An advantage to using a radially symmetrical bore shape is that the insert sets can be releasably loaded in multiple orientations, thus allowing further flexibility in the placement of the punched or embossed image on a sheet of material. For example, a square bore allows the insert set to be loaded in one of four possible orientations.
The upper frame of the tool carries a lever arm pivotally connected to the frame for driving one of the parts of the set into engagement with the other, when manipulated by the user. The lever arm has a lobe portion that extends into the recess or opening defined by the square bore of the upper frame, for pushing its respective one-half of the punch/emboss set toward the other half that is held in the lower part of the frame. The lever arm is positioned at or near the end of the upper beam.
The frame beams are sufficiently long so that the interchangeable insert set can reach the middle of a conventional sheet of paper for punching or embossing a design in it.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below in detail. In the past, a person practicing arts and crafts needed to purchase separate punch/emboss tools to create separate designs in paper. While some prior art tools have interchangeable cartridges that allow the same tool to be used to make different designs, none provide such easy interchangeability, orientability, and the capability of reaching to the center of a sheet of paper.